I believe the perceptions for distance learning in the next 5-10 years will be that people will be more open to learning in an online environment, due to the increase in online communication, practical experience with new tools, growing since of comfort online, and the ability to communicate with diverse global groups (Siemens, 2010). It will definitely become a norm in which more and more institutions will conduct classes online to accommodate lifelong learners. Many types of learners will benefit from the distance education arena, such as K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate students, working professionals, home makers, and individuals wanting to continue their education for personal advancement. This testament proves that opportunities for learning and higher studies will be available to a far wider community of people than ever before.
In order to be proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning, I would have to keep learners informed about the many opportunities for learning in this type of environment. I would also have to introduce and share with learners the many resources available for the successful delivery of synchronous and asynchronous distance learning activities.
I can simply be an example of a successful online learner and share my positive learning experiences with others interested in the distance learning environment. I can inform them of the distinct benefits of distance learning such as its accessibility, convenience, and flexibility. The distance learning environment is definitely geared toward the busy life and vast experience of various types of learners. I can also continue to learn in this environment because there is always a need to constantly improve in skills needed for the advancement in my career and education. Education is definitely a lifelong learning experience and distance learning promotes improvement in every way.
My thoughts on this learning environment were quite different before I was enrolled as a student at Walden and enrolled as a student in this class. This course has opened my eyes to what distance education really is. It is definitely evident that we are heading to major advancements in the future of distance education. It is a societal norm that we learn from a distance in many educational settings. I also believe that learning from a distance can only grow and improve due to technology and innovation, and reach many types of learners in different environments in the near future.
References:
Siemens, G (2010). The Future of Distance Education. Retrieved December 24, 2010 from Walden University, Web site: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4603379&Survey=1&47=6446129&ClientNodeID
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Converting to a Distance Learning Format
Consider the following scenario: A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.
With this scenario in mind, and taking into consideration your Learning Resources, reflect on the following:
1. What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
The trainer will have to decide which parts of the course will be conducted online, and which parts will be offline. They also need gain knowledge about the learner’s technological abilities, the logistics and location of the audience, and the resources available for the course.
2. What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
The trainer can make the training modules all text based and place it online so that the trainees have access to it throughout the training sessions. Online learning activities may include taking and submitting assessments taken by the trainee at the end of each training module. Other activities may be used such as posting comments and participating in discussion forums in online chat sessions among trainees and trainers. In this particular case, the trainees will interact with their instructor and colleagues both in person and online, via web discussion forums, email, and chat sessions.
3. How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
He will first serve as the developer and then facilitator to the trainers teaching the course. His role as the instructor is critical because it requires a transformation process to that of learning facilitator.
4. What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?
The trainer must keep in constant contact with the trainees in this blended learning environment and must participate and monitor in asynchronous discussions for online participation. They can also encourage the trainees to communicate online by using activities that keeps the trainees engaged participants.
Based on what you have learned thus far in this course, formulate a best practices guide for this trainer to follow when converting his program to a distance learning format. Include ideas and tips that could assist the trainer in facilitating communication and learning among his students. Be sure to support your ideas with documentation from your Learning Resources.
Distance Learning Best Practice Guide
1. Planning and development- Allow enough time to develop the course.
Creating a blended course is not as simple as placing presentation slides or notes online. (Ragan, 2010).
Have a good lesson plan which includes activities, polls, small group discussion (Piskurich, 2010).
2. Technology - Know and master the technology/software in order to administer the course. Posting content to the course web site, creating discussion forums, and managing student grade books are examples of skills that might be useful to practice (Ragan, 2010).
3. Focus on your learners - Understand the learner and keep in constant contact with them. Hold an initial face-to-face kick-off meeting. This first meeting can serve many roles, including a general orientation to the format of the course, a review of technology requirements, and an opportunity for the students to socialize and get to know their peers and their instructor (Ragan, 2010.
4. Communication- Participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions (Piskurich, 2010).Monitor discussion board, send emails, and communicate. Make students aware of what a blended course entails.
References:
Piskurich, G (2010). Facilitating Online Learning. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from Walden University, Web site:
http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4603379&Survey=1&47=6446129&ClientNodeID
Ragan, L. (2010). Best Practices in Online Teaching - Pulling It All Together - Teaching Blended Learning Courses. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from Penn State University , Web site: http://cnx.org/content/m15048/latest/
With this scenario in mind, and taking into consideration your Learning Resources, reflect on the following:
1. What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
The trainer will have to decide which parts of the course will be conducted online, and which parts will be offline. They also need gain knowledge about the learner’s technological abilities, the logistics and location of the audience, and the resources available for the course.
2. What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
The trainer can make the training modules all text based and place it online so that the trainees have access to it throughout the training sessions. Online learning activities may include taking and submitting assessments taken by the trainee at the end of each training module. Other activities may be used such as posting comments and participating in discussion forums in online chat sessions among trainees and trainers. In this particular case, the trainees will interact with their instructor and colleagues both in person and online, via web discussion forums, email, and chat sessions.
3. How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
He will first serve as the developer and then facilitator to the trainers teaching the course. His role as the instructor is critical because it requires a transformation process to that of learning facilitator.
4. What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?
The trainer must keep in constant contact with the trainees in this blended learning environment and must participate and monitor in asynchronous discussions for online participation. They can also encourage the trainees to communicate online by using activities that keeps the trainees engaged participants.
Based on what you have learned thus far in this course, formulate a best practices guide for this trainer to follow when converting his program to a distance learning format. Include ideas and tips that could assist the trainer in facilitating communication and learning among his students. Be sure to support your ideas with documentation from your Learning Resources.
Distance Learning Best Practice Guide
1. Planning and development- Allow enough time to develop the course.
Creating a blended course is not as simple as placing presentation slides or notes online. (Ragan, 2010).
Have a good lesson plan which includes activities, polls, small group discussion (Piskurich, 2010).
2. Technology - Know and master the technology/software in order to administer the course. Posting content to the course web site, creating discussion forums, and managing student grade books are examples of skills that might be useful to practice (Ragan, 2010).
3. Focus on your learners - Understand the learner and keep in constant contact with them. Hold an initial face-to-face kick-off meeting. This first meeting can serve many roles, including a general orientation to the format of the course, a review of technology requirements, and an opportunity for the students to socialize and get to know their peers and their instructor (Ragan, 2010.
4. Communication- Participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions (Piskurich, 2010).Monitor discussion board, send emails, and communicate. Make students aware of what a blended course entails.
References:
Piskurich, G (2010). Facilitating Online Learning. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from Walden University, Web site:
http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4603379&Survey=1&47=6446129&ClientNodeID
Ragan, L. (2010). Best Practices in Online Teaching - Pulling It All Together - Teaching Blended Learning Courses. Retrieved December 17, 2010 from Penn State University , Web site: http://cnx.org/content/m15048/latest/
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Impact of Open Source
I decided to use and expand on the Open Culture website, which was one of the examples in our resources as an Open Course website. I learned that Open Culture attempts to bring together high-quality cultural & educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Open Culture’s whole mission is to centralize audio and video content, and give users access to this high quality content anytime they want it. It offers free audio books, free online courses, free movies, free language lessons, free ebooks and other enriching content, which in other Web 2.0 tools, were scattered across the web, and not easy to find. (Open Culture, 2010). With in the site I decided to expand on an introductory course in Greek history, which traced the development of Greek civilization as manifested in political, intellectual, and creative achievements from the Bronze Age to the end of the classical period. This Yale College course was taught on campus twice per week for 75minutes and was recorded for Open Yale Courses in the fall 2007. Here is a link to the course, http://oyc.yale.edu/classics/introduction-to-ancient-greek-history.
Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?
Yes, the course contents included an introduction about the Ancient Greek History course, the Professor Donald Kagan, and the structure of the course. It also included an online syllabus stating course objectives, policies, and requirements; class sessions with access to audio, video, and course materials; course downloads which included downloaded course pages and course media; and a survey that allows students to share their thoughts about the course.
Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook? As stated in our textbook, we must remember that open source software is intended to be freely shared and can be improved upon and redistributed to others. The code in which the software is written is free and available to anyone to do just about anything with it. Keeping that in mind, this online course definitely follows the idea of what Open Course Software really is.
Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?
This particular course did not implement a lot of the course activities that usually maximizes active learning for distance learners, because it mainly focused on class lecture and self directed learning. In order to maximize active learning online other factors must exists such as class discussion and open forums, mentorship, projects, and collaborative learning.
References:
Open Culture (2010). Retrieved December 4, 2010 from, Website: http://www.openculture.com/
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?
Yes, the course contents included an introduction about the Ancient Greek History course, the Professor Donald Kagan, and the structure of the course. It also included an online syllabus stating course objectives, policies, and requirements; class sessions with access to audio, video, and course materials; course downloads which included downloaded course pages and course media; and a survey that allows students to share their thoughts about the course.
Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook? As stated in our textbook, we must remember that open source software is intended to be freely shared and can be improved upon and redistributed to others. The code in which the software is written is free and available to anyone to do just about anything with it. Keeping that in mind, this online course definitely follows the idea of what Open Course Software really is.
Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?
This particular course did not implement a lot of the course activities that usually maximizes active learning for distance learners, because it mainly focused on class lecture and self directed learning. In order to maximize active learning online other factors must exists such as class discussion and open forums, mentorship, projects, and collaborative learning.
References:
Open Culture (2010). Retrieved December 4, 2010 from, Website: http://www.openculture.com/
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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